How do you assess project health and performance?

1 Project health indicators

Project health indicators are metrics that demonstrate the success of a project in meeting objectives, scope, schedule, budget, quality, and stakeholder expectations. Earned value analysis (EVA) is a tool that measures the planned value, actual cost, and earned value of work packages to calculate schedule and cost performance indexes (SPI and CPI), schedule and cost variances (SV and CV), and the estimate at completion (EAC) and estimate to complete (ETC). Additionally, key performance indicators (KPIs) are values that reflect the critical success factors of the project such as customer satisfaction, defect rate, scope change, or delivery time. These should be defined and tracked throughout the project lifecycle with alignment to project goals and benefits. Finally, a risk register is a document that records identified risks, their probability and impact, response strategies, status, and ownership. It should be updated and reviewed regularly to monitor exposure and mitigation of uncertainties and threats.

2 Project performance reports

Project performance reports are documents that summarize and communicate the project health indicators to the relevant stakeholders, such as the project sponsor, the customer, the team, or the senior management. These reports may include a status report, which provides a snapshot of the project's current situation and highlights achievements, issues, and risks. Additionally, a progress report may be used to describe the work done, planned, and remaining in the project. An issue log also records any problems or deviations that occur in the project, their causes and effects, resolution actions and owners, and their status and closure. All of these reports help to track and manage the project's challenges and dependencies.

3 Project health checks

Project health checks are reviews or audits that evaluate the project's performance, quality, governance, and alignment with the business objectives and strategy. Quality audits are a systematic examination of the quality standards, policies, procedures, and practices applied in the project. Project reviews are a structured assessment of the project's status, progress, and performance. Lessons learned are a process of capturing, documenting, and sharing the knowledge and experience gained from the project. By using these methods and tools, you can assess project health and performance effectively and efficiently. Additionally, you can improve your project management skills, enhance your stakeholder relationships, and increase your project's value and success.

4 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?